Improvement in apparatus for drying and bleaching ground wheat



C. S. FULLER. Apilaratsfor Dryingand Bleachangfround Wheat,

N0. 162,910. A I 'Patented May 4,1875..

. l \I@\ c' l- CLARK S. FULLER, OF LA FAYETTEINDIANA.

IMPROVEIVIENTl IN APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND BLEACHING GROUND WHEAT.

Specicaticn forming part of Letters Patent No. 62,9l0, dated May 4, 1875 application filed March 17, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, QLARK S. FULLER, of La Fayette, in the county of Tippecanoe and State ot' Indiana, have invented certain Improvements in Apparatus for Drying and Bleaching Chops or Ground Wheat, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to a drying apparatus of improved construction th rough which chops as they leave the stones are passed, and in which they are thoroughly dried before they enter the bolt.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal section of my improved apparatus. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the revolvin g steam-drum in elevation. Figs. 3 and 4 are vertical cross-sections of the apparatus, respectively, in lines .r w and y y, Fig. 2.

Like letters of reference designate like parts in each of the figures.

A is the stationary frame of the apparatus, and B the outer inclosing drying-cylinder supported therein, and provided at its upper end with a spout, b, through which the material to be dried is fed into the same, and near its opposite lower end with a spout, b1, for the discharge ofthe dried material. It is also provided at its upper side with adjustable ventilators b2, permitting the escape of the vapors evolved during the drying process. C is the revolving steam drum arranged within the cylinder B, and secured to a hollow shaft, c, passing through the heads of the cylinder, and revolving in suitable bearings o. The bore of the shaft o is divided at the center by a partition, d, and each part of the bore is provided with openings e c forming passages to the interior of the steam-drum. One part of the hollow shaft connects, by means of a trunnion, with the steam-supply pipe f, the steam entering the drum C from the shaft by the openings c; and the other part of the shaft connects withV a discharge-pipe, by which the waste steam escaping fromthe drum into the hollow shaft by the openings c is conducted to any desired place. The drum C is preferably arranged slightly inclined, so that the condensed water accumulates at one end, from whence it escapes through openings g, pro- .vided with spring-valves, into a compartment of the outer case A, from which it is discharged by a waste-pipe, g. h is an annular flange secured to the surface of the steam-drum nea-r its lower or rear end, so as to lit snugly within the cylinder B, for the purpose of separating the compartment into which the condensed water is discharged by the openings g from the main compartment of the cylinder B, in which the material is dried. c' are longitudinal ribs secured to the drum C, and extending from the front end thereof to the flange 7L, so as to elevate the material from the bottom of the drying-cylinder, as the drum revolves, to the highest point thereof, and then permit the saine to descend over the surface of the drum ou the opposite side. k represents a number of inclined plates arranged on the surface of the drum C at a greater or less distance apart, so as to break up the material as it descends over the surface ofthe drum, and at the same time propel it toward the discharge-spout of the cylinder. The ribs c' and plates 7c are made of such width as to nearly touch the outer cylinder, and the material is fed in at such a rate as to keep the narrow annular space between the drum and the outer cylinder nearly filled, whereby the drum is kept covered with a layer of the material, and a continuous operation ot' the apparatus is insured. The drum is rotated by a gear-wheel, Z, mounted on the shaft c, and driven by a pinion, l', or in any other suitable manner.

The chops or ground grain come from the stones in a more or less damp condition, and are fed into the cylinder B by the spout b, and repeatedly passed over the heated drum U by the revolutions thereof, whereby all the moisture is expelled from the chops, and the same rendered thoroughly dry and crisp. The iiour, when damp, has a more or less gray or yellowish appearance, which, by subjecting it.,` to the action of this drying apparatus, is changed to a perfectly white condition, whereby the market value of the flour is considerably increased. The adhesive qualities of the constituents of the chops, especially of the une particles of bran and fuzz, are destroyed by passing it through the drying apparatus, whereby the subsequent separation of the chops into flour, middlings, Snc., by bolting, is

ribs z', for elevating the material, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combinatiomwith the outer station ary cylinderB, of the revolving steam-drum C, provided with longitudinal ribs z' and interrupted spiral plates k, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

CLARK S. FULLER.

Witnesses:

M. J. TIMBERLAKE, J. MADDEN. 

